THE PALM FAMILY. 



269" 



rings of scars upon them. Chamsedoreas are all 

 natives of America. 



The name comes from chamaij "dwarf," and 

 dorea^ "a gift," but we are unaware how it applies. 



C. Arenbergii^an extremely 

 handsome species. The 

 slender stem bears on its 

 summit a beautiful crown 

 of pinnate leaves. Guate- 

 maJa. 

 C. brevifrons — tlie leaves of 

 tbis species seldom exceed 

 a foot or eighteen inches 

 in .length ; pinnate, with 

 sessile leaflets, broad at 

 the base, and tapering to a 

 point. New Grenada. 

 C. el^ans — stem erect, bear- 

 ing drooping pinnate 

 leaves, from two to three 

 feet inlength, leaflets nine 

 to twelve inches long, 

 narrow, tapering to a 

 point, and bright green. 

 Mexico. 

 C. Emesti-Augnsti — stem 

 five to six feet high, and 

 about two inches in dia- 

 meter, closely ringed, 

 bearing on the summit 

 a head of six to twelve 

 broadly bifldleaves, which 

 are one to two feet long, 

 including the stem-clasp- 

 ing petiole, and one foot 

 broad, serrate at the 

 edges, and dark green, the 

 female plant usually bear- 

 ing rather more leaves 

 than the male. The 

 flowers are of a deep 

 orange-colour, about the 

 size of a pea, and are 

 extremely ornamental, 

 but very fugEicious. The 

 female spadix is usually 

 simple, but sometimes 

 double, and with the pe- 

 duncle about two feet in 

 lengthy thick, and fleshy ; 

 flowers orange-red, same 

 size as the male ; spadix 

 deep green, changing to a 

 bright coral-redi Tabasco, 

 New Grenada. 

 C. geonomiformis — a spe- 

 cies similar in appear- 

 ance to the preceding, but 

 smaller in all its parts, 

 some four feet high, and 

 branching,pendulous pani- 

 cles ; green. Guatemala. 

 C. glaucifolia— this is a slen- 

 der-stemmed species, with 

 long plume-like pinnate 

 leaves, which render it 

 very elegaut ; glaucous- 

 green. Guatemala. 

 C. graminifolia— stem reed- 

 like, carrying a beautiful 

 feathery head of leaves 

 from tbree to four feet in 

 length. The flowers are 

 orange - colour, borne in 

 branching panicles ; the 

 spadices are pendulous, 

 and about twelve inches 

 long. It is one of the 

 most elegant members of 

 the family. Costa Rica. 

 C. macrospadix — this spe- 

 cies forms a stout stem, 

 and bears a large head of 



long and broad pinnate 

 leaves, which are about 

 four feet in length. Costa 

 Rica. 



C. microphylla— this minia- 

 ture Palm-tree forms a 

 stem and a crown of 

 leaves, and flowers and 

 seeds,' when only a few 

 inches high. Stem reed- 

 like, deep green, curiously 

 freckled with, white ; 

 leaves pinnate, nearly a 

 foot long. The flowers 

 are produced on branch- 

 ing spikes, which are 

 shorter than the leaves. 

 Brazil. 



C. Sartorii — a free bold- 

 growing species, with a 

 slender stem, and long 

 pinnate leaves, some four 

 feet in length, and beau- 

 tifully arched, leaflets ses- 

 sile, about nine inches 

 long, and one and a half 

 inch broad. Kexico. 



C. scandens— a slender spe- 

 cies, which, after reach- 

 ing about six feet in 

 height, begins to climb ; 

 leaves pinnate, about 

 three feet long, and glau- 

 cous. Mexico. 



C.Tepejilote— thisis a hand- 

 some species, with a stout 

 stem, eight or ten feet 

 high, having niunerous 

 closely-set rings of scars ; 

 leaves pinnate, three to 

 four feet in length, bear- 

 ing about eighteen to 

 twenty paiis of leaflets, 

 which are twelve to eigh- 

 teen inches long, and 

 one to two inches broad ; 

 the male flowers golden- 

 yellow, spadices pendu- 

 lous, nine inches or more 

 long, home in a branch- 

 ing panicle. The name of 

 this species is peculiar, 

 and comes from the Mexi- 

 cans, who gather the 

 young unexpanded flower- 

 spikes of the Chameedo- 

 reas, and this one in par- 

 ticular, and use them as a 

 vegetoble, which they call 

 " Tepejilote." Eastern 

 Mexico. 



C. Warscewiczii— stem slen- 

 der, about six feet hi^h. 

 Guatemala. 



C. Wendlandii — a bold* 

 growing, handsome plant, 

 with a slender stem, bear- 

 ing a crown of pinnate 

 leaves, two to three feet 

 in length; leaflets sessile 

 at the base, about twelve 

 inches long, and two 

 broad. Though all the 

 species here enumerated 

 are admirably adapted for 

 general decorative pur- 

 poses, this species is by 

 far the best for the dwell- 

 ing-house. Mexico. 



Chamserops. — This genus has been described 

 in the green-house division of these plants; the 

 species iiitroduced here are often also called G-teen- 

 houae Palms, and treated as such, but they thrive 

 best in the stove; otherwise their treatment calls 

 for no particular remarks beyond those given under 

 the same heading in Green-house plants. 



C. Martiana — this is a su- 

 perb but rare species, 

 with an erect and slender 

 stem, attaining a height 

 of some twenty or thirty 

 feet. The petioles are 

 slender, armed at the 

 edges with small teeth- 

 like spines, and tomen- 

 tose, one to two feet long, 

 their bases enveloped in a 

 rough net-work of dark 

 brown fibres ; leaves fan- 

 shaped, nearly circular, 

 and flat. Himalayas. The 

 correct name of this is 

 Trachycarpus Mq,rtianus. 



C. stauracantha — this and 



the Palm formerly called, 

 by the name of C. Wars- 

 cewiczii are latterly sepa- 

 rated from this family by 

 the name Acanthorrhiza, 

 the principal difference 

 being in the segments of 

 their leaves being split to 

 the base ; stem rather 

 robust — crowned with 

 palmate leaves. It form& 

 a quantity of aerial roots 

 at the base of the stem, 

 which become spiny with 

 age, Mexico. The cor- 

 rect name of this Palm is, 

 however, Acanthorrhiza 

 aculeata. 



Cocos. — A family consisting of nxraierous species^ 

 varying widely in size ; to this genus belongs the 

 weU-known Cocoa-nut Tree, Cocos miciferay to which 

 we, however, merely refer, and omit further notice 

 of here, as it is not useful for decorative purposes. 

 But there are several small species which are 

 invaluable, and whidi we shall briefly describe. 

 The name of the genus is said to be derived from 

 CQcOj a word signifying "a monkey," from the re- 

 semblance of the nut to the head and face of that 

 animal. 



C, butyracea— leaves tliree 

 to six feet long, simple 

 and pliated when young ; 

 becoming pinnate, theleaf- 

 lets aggregate by threes 

 and fours; highly orna- 

 mental. New Grenada. 



C. elegantiseima — an elegant 

 small-growing plant, with 

 long, arching, plume-like 

 leaves. The species re- 

 sembles C Weddeliana, 

 but its leaflets are rather 

 broader, and its colour is 

 bright instead of deep 

 heavy green. Brazil. 



C. Orinocensis— this species 

 is rare and very beautiT 

 ful, and has been thus de- 

 scribed : *• This handsome 

 Palm, notable for its short 

 curling, yellowish foliage, 

 forms large beds on the 

 bare granite of the moun- 

 tains of the Orinoco, be- 

 tween the mouths of the 

 Yichada and Meta. It is 

 a conspicuous ornament 

 on the hills around May- 

 pures, where it is called 



Corozito. Stems slender, 

 twelve to sixty feet high." 



C. plumosus — this very 

 beautiful plant derives its 

 naime both from its long 

 feather-like leaves, and 

 also from the long droop- 

 ing branches of the spaduc, 

 whichare veryplume-like ; 

 as a young plant it is very 

 useful for general decora- 

 tive purposes, whilst as it 

 attains maturity it is mag- 

 nificent. BrazU. 



C. Weddeliana — amongst 

 graceful Palms, this spe- 

 cies stands pre-eminent, 

 and very few plants have 

 ever been such universal 

 favourites. Stem slender, 

 bearing a grand crown of 

 arching feathery leaves, 

 from one to four or five 

 feet long, finely pinnate ; 

 the leaflets very narrow, 

 deep green above, clothed 

 with a grey tomentum on 

 the tmder side. Banks of 

 the Amazon and Rio 

 Negro. 



Corypha. — This genus is peculiar to Asia. The 

 name comes from koryphe, " the summit," in referencf 

 to the large terminal branching spadix of flowers 

 which they bear when they are mature, so that 



